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res Management has entered a $5.2 billion deal to acquire GLP Capital Partners' international arm, marking one of the largest mergers in the private investment industry. The acquisition adds $44 billion in assets to Ares' portfolio, pushing the firm closer to its goal of managing over $750 billion by 2028.

    The deal nearly doubles Ares' real estate investments and strengthens its position in Europe and Japan, where GLP has significant holdings. Ares CEO Michael Arougheti said the acquisition will make Ares the third-largest investor in industrial real estate, behind Blackstone and Prologis.

    The transaction is funded through a mix of $1.8 billion in cash and $3.7 billion in Ares shares. A long-term incentive plan for GLP's leadership could see an additional payout of up to $1.5 billion by 2027.

    Arougheti said the deal comes at an opportune time, as commercial real estate investor sentiment has improved in anticipation of Fed rate cuts, which could boost property values. "We're buying in at the right time," he said.

    The acquisition also capitalizes on the growing demand for data centers, driven by increased cloud computing and AI technologies. Ares is competing with other investment firms to secure real estate for this booming sector, including BlackRock's $30 billion partnership with Microsoft to develop data centers.